Learn
How Metric Storage Works
A time-series database takes billions of floating-point measurements and packs them into
a fraction of their original size — then answers queries across all of them in milliseconds.
Each experience below lets you see and interact with
one piece of that puzzle. Click any card to explore.
Start Here
Three beginner-friendly paths that establish the storage model before the deeper codec internals.
String Interning
See how labels collapse from repeated strings into compact integer IDs. This is the cleanest first step for understanding series identity.
Labels BeginnerChunk Stats
Learn why chunks carry min, max, sum, and count, and how those summaries let queries skip work before decompression.
Query BeginnerDelta-of-Delta
Watch regular timestamps collapse toward one bit per sample. It is the easiest compression path to build intuition around.
TimestampsCompression Deep Dives
How raw numbers become tiny bit streams once the basic storage model clicks.
ALP Compression
Watch floating-point numbers get quantized to integers, bit-packed, and compressed to a fraction of their size — with lossless round-trip.
Values BeginnerDelta-of-Delta
Regular timestamps compress to almost nothing — just 1 bit per sample when the interval is constant. Watch the math unfold.
Timestamps IntermediateXOR-Delta
Values that barely change need barely any bits. XOR two floats, find the meaningful window, and store just that.
ValuesStorage & Query Internals
How data is organized, pruned, and scanned once you move beyond the first mental model.
String Interning
10,000 series × 4 labels each = 40,000 strings. Interning stores each unique string once and references it by integer ID.
Labels BeginnerChunk Stats
Each compressed chunk stores min, max, sum, and count. Queries can skip entire chunks without decompressing — often 100× faster.
Query IntermediateQuery Engine
From label filters to aggregated answers: finding which series match, skipping data outside the time range, grouping into equal buckets — including how the fluent query builder compiles to an executable plan.
Pipeline